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WASHINGTON—Five senators control the fate of pending legislation governing self-driving vehicles. Their ability to block the bipartisan AV START Act from getting passed has put them at the... View Full Details »

WASHINGTON—Five senators control the fate of pending legislation governing self-driving vehicles. Their ability to block the bipartisan AV START Act from getting passed has put them at the center of lobbying efforts by opponents and supporters.

WASHINGTON—Five senators control the fate of pending legislation governing self-driving vehicles. Their ability to block the bipartisan AV START Act from getting passed has put them at the center of lobbying efforts by opponents and supporters.

$WASHINGTON—Five senators control the fate of pending legislation governing self-driving vehicles. Their ability to block the bipartisan AV START Act from getting passed has put them at the center of lobbying efforts by opponents and supporters.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. International Trade Commission has found evidence of dumping and subsidies in its investigation of rubber band imports from China and Thailand.
The March 15 vote means... View Full Details »

WASHINGTON—The U.S. International Trade Commission has found evidence of dumping and subsidies in its investigation of rubber band imports from China and Thailand.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. International Trade Commission has found evidence of dumping and subsidies in its investigation of rubber band imports from China and Thailand.

$WASHINGTON—The U.S. International Trade Commission has found evidence of dumping and subsidies in its investigation of rubber band imports from China and Thailand.

It's long been assumed that the health care and allied medical device makers were recession-proof, giving suppliers to the businesses some shelter from the ups and downs of the economic cycles.... View Full Details »

It's long been assumed that the health care and allied medical device makers were recession-proof, giving suppliers to the businesses some shelter from the ups and downs of the economic cycles. But that doesn't mean the medical sector is immune to other business pressures.

It's long been assumed that the health care and allied medical device makers were recession-proof, giving suppliers to the businesses some shelter from the ups and downs of the economic cycles. But that doesn't mean the medical sector is immune to other business pressures.

$It's long been assumed that the health care and allied medical device makers were recession-proof, giving suppliers to the businesses some shelter from the ups and downs of the economic cycles. But that doesn't mean the medical sector is immune to other business pressures.

Every once in a while, my mom stops by to drop off what she calls "little prizes." They're small treasures—trinkets she finds at the Dollar Store or long-forgotten items buried in the... View Full Details »

Every once in a while, my mom stops by to drop off what she calls "little prizes." They're small treasures—trinkets she finds at the Dollar Store or long-forgotten items buried in the kitchen junk drawer.

Every once in a while, my mom stops by to drop off what she calls "little prizes." They're small treasures—trinkets she finds at the Dollar Store or long-forgotten items buried in the kitchen junk drawer.

$Every once in a while, my mom stops by to drop off what she calls "little prizes." They're small treasures—trinkets she finds at the Dollar Store or long-forgotten items buried in the kitchen junk drawer.

AKRON—Milan "Mike" Stone, the fifth president of the former United Rubber Workers union, died March 3 at Summa Akron City Hospital. He was 90.He was president of the Akron-based URW from... View Full Details »

AKRON—Milan "Mike" Stone, the fifth president of the former United Rubber Workers union, died March 3 at Summa Akron City Hospital. He was 90.

AKRON—Milan "Mike" Stone, the fifth president of the former United Rubber Workers union, died March 3 at Summa Akron City Hospital. He was 90.

$AKRON—Milan "Mike" Stone, the fifth president of the former United Rubber Workers union, died March 3 at Summa Akron City Hospital. He was 90.

By its very nature, the winter tire market is largely dependent on weather patterns for demand.
However, several major winter tire makers report strong sales based not only on weather, but also... View Full Details »

By its very nature, the winter tire market is largely dependent on weather patterns for demand. However, several major winter tire makers report strong sales based not only on weather, but also on company reputation, consumer education and advanced tire technology.

By its very nature, the winter tire market is largely dependent on weather patterns for demand. However, several major winter tire makers report strong sales based not only on weather, but also on company reputation, consumer education and advanced tire technology.

$By its very nature, the winter tire market is largely dependent on weather patterns for demand. However, several major winter tire makers report strong sales based not only on weather, but also on company reputation, consumer education and advanced tire technology.

NORTH CANTON, Ohio—After spending more than 52 years in the rubber industry, John Long often gets asked why he's not fully retired.
The industry veteran spent 44 years working for rubber... View Full Details »

NORTH CANTON, Ohio—After spending more than 52 years in the rubber industry, John Long often gets asked why he's not fully retired. His answer is simple: "Why should I retire? I enjoy it."

NORTH CANTON, Ohio—After spending more than 52 years in the rubber industry, John Long often gets asked why he's not fully retired. His answer is simple: "Why should I retire? I enjoy it."

$NORTH CANTON, Ohio—After spending more than 52 years in the rubber industry, John Long often gets asked why he's not fully retired. His answer is simple: "Why should I retire? I enjoy it."

MIDLAND, Mich.—DowDuPont Inc. is making leadership changes as CEO Andrew Liveris prepares to step down, and the merged company prepares to spin itself into three separate firms.
Liveris, 63,... View Full Details »

MIDLAND, Mich.—DowDuPont is making leadership changes as CEO Andrew Liveris prepares to step down, and the merged company prepares to spin itself into three separate firms.

MIDLAND, Mich.—DowDuPont is making leadership changes as CEO Andrew Liveris prepares to step down, and the merged company prepares to spin itself into three separate firms.

$MIDLAND, Mich.—DowDuPont is making leadership changes as CEO Andrew Liveris prepares to step down, and the merged company prepares to spin itself into three separate firms.

Tire makers' expansion plans exceed $1 billion

Tire makers globally committed more than $1.6 billion in the past 12 months to specific capacity expansions and plant modernizations, a dramatic jump from the few hundred million dollars budgeted last year but on par with the amount budgeted the year before.

The expansion projects monitored in the past year by Rubber & Plastics News account for more than 96,000 units of new daily capacity. Plant closings throughout 2001 and early 2002, however, took as much as 95,000 units of daily capacity out of circulation.

Among the major producers, actual capital expenditures during the year fell more than 9 percent, with only Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. and Pirelli S.p.A. increasing their spending over 2000. Groupe Michelin topped the capital spending list, both in raw spending at $974.9 million and as a percentage of sales at 6.9 percent.

On average, the major producers devoted 5.5 percent of sales to capital spending, down from 5.9 percent a year ago.

Spending on research and development, on the other hand, was up at seven of the 10 major manufacturers for which data were available, but the declines-at Goodyear, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. and Hankook Tire Co. Ltd.-were enough to keep the average spending among the majors at 3.3 percent of sales.

Michelin and Continental A.G. led the industry last year, devoting 4.4 and 4.1 percent, respectively, of sales to R&D.

Expansions

Bridgestone Corp.

Bridgestone will invest more than $250 million in the coming two years to expand global capacity. The spending includes:

* Japan-$40 million to add 5,000 units of daily capacity for higher value-added tires at its Kurume, Tosu, Hofu, Hikone, Tokyo and Nasu plants by year-end;

* Thailand-$80 million to increase capacity at the Nong Khae facility by 55.5 percent to 28,000 units per day by year-end 2004;

* Indonesia-$8 million to raise capacity at the Karawang factory by 20 percent to 18,000 units per day;

* Poland-$60 million to raise the daily capacity of its Poznan plant by 50 percent, to 15,000 units by year-end 2004;

* Costa Rica-$40 million to more than double capacity of its San Jose factory to 13,500 tires a day by year-end 2004;

* Mexico-$8 million to raise capacity of its Cuernavaca facility 7.7 percent to 14,000 tires a day by year-end; and

* Canada-$22.5 million at Bridgestone/Firestone Canada Inc.'s Joliette, Quebec, plant for new equipment to expand the range of tire sizes and types it produces for cars, light trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

Fate S.a.i.c.i.

Argentina's Fate has started construction of a factory for radial truck tires. No investment data or construction timetable was made public. Continental is Fate's technology supply partner.

Goodyear

Goodyear has committed nearly $500 million to three major projects, along with a smaller project at a joint venture:

* U.S.-$250 million over four to five years to modernize its Lawton/Fort Sill, Okla., radial passenger tire facility;

* U.S.-$120 million to modernize its Topeka, Kan., farm and earthmover/ OTR tire plant that will upgrade equipment, processing and technology during the next five years;

* China-$120 million through 2006 to nearly triple production capacity for passenger tires at its Dalian facility. Capacity will rise to 5.3 million units by 2006, when employment will double to 1,000; and

* New Zealand-Goodyear's South Pacific Tyres Ltd. joint venture will invest about $5 million at its Upper Hutt passenger car tire plant this year to expand output nearly two-thirds to 2.4 million tires annually.

Hankook Tire Co. Ltd.

Hankook will invest $250 million in its two Chinese factories, in Jiaxing and Jiangsu, by 2010, tripling annual production capacity to about 20 million units in a bid to boost sales in China to $580 million. The first-phase of the investment project will inject $100 million by 2004 when Chinese sales should reach $300 million. The second phase would occur in 2004-2010, helping to push sales to $580 million, according to Hankook President Choong Hwan Cho.

Kerman Tire & Rubber Co.

Iran's Kerman Tire has budgeted $70 million to build and equip a radial truck tire plant, under supervision of Continental, the technology supply and off-take production partner.

Nizhnekamskshina

Russian's Nizhnekamskshina has budgeted $60 million to increase radial car tire capacity at its Nizhnekamsk factory in Tatarstan by 2 million units annually. Pirelli will provide know-how and equipment for the project and supervise production start-up, train personnel and provide continuous technical assistance to Nizhnekamskshina, the company said.

Pirelli S.p.A.

The Italian tire maker plans to spend $136.6 million to add radial capacity to Pirelli Pneus S.A.'s 25-year-old Feira de Santana, Brazil, plant. The facility, acquired by Pirelli in 1986 from Pneus Tropical, has a nameplate capacity of 1,200 units a day of bias-ply car, light truck and medium truck tires.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd.

* China-Budgeted $62 million to set up a tire plant, in partnership with Taiwan's Hwa Fong Rubber Ind. Co. Ltd., in Jiangsu, China, with daily capacity of 5,000 units and 350 workers. Production is scheduled to start in April 2004; and

* Indonesia-Sumitomo's second tire facility in Indonesia raises output in that country by 30 percent to 2,350 metric tons of rubber consumption per month. By the end of the 2005, capacity is expected to rise an additional 28 percent, to 3,000 tons a month, Sumitomo said.

Groupe Michelin

* U.S.-Michelin North America Inc. will spend about $56 million to upgrade equipment at its Ardmore, Okla., tire plant and up to $200 million to expand its Lexington County, S.C., earthmover tire factory. This new investment follows an $18.2 million investment in 2001 and a $21.5 million project in 2000; and

* Mexico-Michelin invested about $3 million to reopen a passenger and light truck tire factory in Queretaro that it had closed two years earlier. The former Uniroyal S.A. de C.V. facility now operates under the auspices of a new company, Autopartes Internacionales de Queretaro, with daily output of 6,000 units at full capacity.

Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd.

Yokohama took over majority ownership of its Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co. Ltd. joint venture in Hangzhou, China, and broke ground on a radial tire facility at the site. It has budgeted $60 million for the factory, which should begin radial passenger car tire production by May 2003, with initial annual capacity of 750,000 units.

Acquisitions/joint ventures

Continental A.G.

Conti is buying a 30-percent stake in Malaysia's Sime Darby Bhd.'s tire activities-DMIB Sdn. Bhd. and Sime Tyres International Sdn. Bhd.-which are being brought together under a common unit to be known as Merit Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd.

A combined DMIB-Sime Tyres entity would report sales of more than $200 million annually. Conti began supplying DMIB and Sime Tyres with technical assistance in January, following the termination of a 17-year-old technology agreement Sime Darby had with Sumitomo.

Nokian Tyres P.L.C.

Nokian and Amtel Holdings Co. of Russia are producing up to 200,000 snow tires for the Russian market this year at an as-yet-undisclosed Russian factory. The deal will be expanded gradually to cover other tires as well, and is seen as a ``first and important step'' for Nokian's objective to establish tire manufacturing in Russia.

Closings

Bridgestone

Bridgestone/Firestone closed its Decatur, Ill., tire plant Dec. 14, ending 38 years of production at the site. At peak capacity, the factory made 30,000 tires a day, but output had dwindled to less than half that in the wake of the Firestone Wilderness recall.

Conti phased out tire production at its Semperit car and truck tire plant in Traiskirchen, Austria, and closed tire factories in Herstal, Belgium; Gislaved, Sweden; and Guadalajara, Mexico. In addition, Moroccan tire maker General Tyre Morocco-34.2-percent owned by Continental-closed at the end of 2001 after filing for insolvency after a restructuring plan failed to produce a turnaround for the money-losing operation.

Michelin

Michelin closed its truck tire plant at Burnley, England, and phased out tire and steel cord production at its Stoke-on-Trent, England, site. In Germany, Michelin closed its St. Ingbert semi-finished products factory.